Tech

25 Standout Apps From 2012

25 Standout Apps From 2012

When entering a dangerous situation, movie characters warn, "If I'm not back in an hour, call the police."

Meet the app equivalent. With Checkon.me, set emergency contacts from your address book, then set an alarm. If you don't check in before the designated time, the app alerts your contacts. There is also a panic button in case of unexpected danger.

It works even if your phone gets turned off at some point, and will even tell your contact the last known location of your phone.

As you might expect from the name, Cinemagram acts like Instagram for GIFs. With a host of vintage filters and other post-processing effects at your fingertips, you'll be able to make artistic and/or hysterical "cines."

Then share your work in an Instagram-style feed, where your friends can like, comment and re-share the content. Naturally, the app also allows you to share across Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

Kingdom Rush is tower defense at its finest. With nearly 20,000 ratings in the App Store, Kingdom Rush maintains five-star status. The game difficulty increases incrementally, so it will keep you entertained for hours. Foot soldiers, heroes and items increase the level of strategy involved.

Summly is the most visually attractive way to keep up with the news of the day. The beautifully designed app aggregates content from a multitude of news sources and separates it into categories. You can then read the headlines, brief summaries or full articles. You can also customize the categories and news sources that contribute to the categories you choose for your feed.

This app gives nascent rappers a chance to discover their own talent. It comes with several free beats, which rappers can record their own lyrics over. You'll also find a number of classic rap tracks with which to experiment, by adding vocal layers. Finally, you can mix and remix tracks. When your beat is just right, upload the track so others can listen to and rate it, as well as share it through social media sites.

Even if you already hired a professional photographer for your wedding, why not see what your friends and family can come up with, as well? Wedpics lets all wedding guests upload pictures they've taken with smartphones (or other cameras) to one location. It's a unique and easy way to see your special day through the eyes of your loved ones.

Planning an event? Yapp lets you make your own mobile app for the big day. Guests download the app, which can include an invitation and specifics, a schedule of the day's events, a news feed where guests can upload content and more.

This app popped up in response to the overwhelming number of campaign ads in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Ad Hawk was billed as a Shazam for campaign ads. The app identifies the ad, gives info about who funded it, tells how much that group has contirubted to the campaign and even what proportion of the group's ads were negative.

From user response, it is clear the app isn't yet perfect. It requires 30 seconds to identify an ad, which means a user will probably need to pause his or her DVR while opening the app. Also, many complained the app was not able to identify many of the commercials.

Going forward, however, this app can be a valuable tool for voters and bring a greater level of transparency to campaigns. Its creators also deserve props for the clever name.

The greatest game ever to grace the Sega Dreamcast (sorry, Jet Set Radio) came roaring onto iOS this year. So, crank that Offspring and get ready to make some kuh-razy money. This port of the classic game brings all the madcap carnage from your youth back to the iPad and iPhone, so you can collect fares and plow headlong into trolleys whenever, wherever.

With simplicity and speed, send your location and a photo (known as a "Ding") to friends. Want to share the great pizza place where you just ate? Send a Ding. Plan to swap locations so you know where to meet your friend later? Send a Ding — and wait for a Dong back from your friend. It's really that simple.

Bummed that your maps app hasn't integrated bicycle directions? This app lets you visualize bike lanes, paths and routes at a glance, and change your route with the swipe of a finger. Plus, with social integration, you can share bike routes with your friends and follow local bike tweets. Available for iPhone and iPad.

Lift helps you track your habits and resolutions. Did you promise you'd read a book every week? Get to sleep earlier? Eat better? With a beautiful, clean layout and appealing data visualization, Lift shows how you're doing and gives you that little push to do better. Your smartphone is already your personal assistant — why can't it be your personal life coach, too?

There's nothing quite as infuriating as circling the block for the eighth time and seeing the same lineup of cars, with no empty spaces.

Keep your sanity with Parking Panda. This app lets you find and reserve city parking from home (or wherever you have your phone). Get your space in a parking garage, commercial lot or private business space in 23 cities nationwide, including Philadelphia, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Boston.

Admit it: Sometimes, you'd rather text than make a phone call. Let's say you need new shoes, but you're not sure either of the shoe stores at the mall has the pair you want. You could take your chances, but wouldn't it be nice to have that information at your fingertips, easily accessible by text?

TalkTo allows you to text businesses and get a direct reply from the location nearest you, without the fuss and discomfort of making a call. Don't get stuck waiting on hold; just shoot off a text while you're eating dinner, studying, getting a haircut or whatever. Suddenly, businesses are easier to…TalkTo.

What were you doing one year ago today? Preparing for a first date? Taking a roadtrip? Building a time machine?

OK, you probably weren't building a time machine. But Timehop will make you feel like you have one. The app plucks your past photos and updates to give you a little slice of nostalgia every day, either to your phone or your email inbox.

Aside from its TV rewards system, Zeebox capitalizes on the fact that most of us are checking Facebook, Tweeting or texting friends while we watch TV, anyway.

Zeebox incorporates social into TV viewing, working like a "sidekick" to the program you're watching. Chat with your friends, tweet out spoilers, follow friends and celebrities and win prizes for participating. Though it started as a simple way to see what's on in your area, there's a lot beneath the surface of Zeebox, and partnerships with NBC Universal and HBO could give it real staying power.

Check out the gallery above to see our picks for the definitive apps of the year. Although some were launched before 2012, we feel the impact they've made during this calendar year deserves merit. Some make life a little easier, and others provide entertainment, but they're all notable.

This is just our top 25, though. Did you discover a life-changing new app during 2012 that we missed? Be sure to let us know in the comments, or tell us what apps you're looking forward to in 2013.

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